It’s tough for a new product to get noticed, especially in the highly competitive arena of breakfast cereals. Big box brands tend to dominate there to such an extent that new brands may not even get shelf space.
The way to get these products to market is by finding niche markets at specialty stores and going the D2C route through the brand’s own site or via platforms like Amazon. But you still need to make customers give you a try, and the way to do that is typically by giving out samples in a venue that draws crowds.
That option is currently off the table with social distancing regulations in effect. So, it’s necessary to think outside the box for distribution of samples.
The cereal brand, Three Wishes, did just that.
The cereal brand, which offers three flavors of grain-free cereals decided to go the drive-through route. Using their own horseshoe-shaped driveway, the owners set out as a contactless sampling station in their own Westchester, NY, neighborhood on the weekend. It worked out well, they said.
You can hear the owners, Ian and Margaret Wishingrad, discussing their creative solution on America’s Newsroom in the video below.
Ian Wishingrad explained that while the wholesome ingredients do add up to a healthy option, they do not add up to an association with tasty in people’s minds. That’s why sampling is so important to win people over as customers for their product.